Through the Screen novel Chapter 16

it's fifteen minutes to one in the morning when abel turns the lock of the apartment and stumbles in, ruffling his hair and removing his shoes. the house is silent today, no television and no sign of noah lurking in the kitchen or the living room or the corridors.

there is a microwaveable plate on the dining table which is covered, a note stuck on top filled from top to bottom in noah's sloppy handwriting, and abel sighs, biting his lip and removing his jacket like he usually does.

i'm guessing you'll come home late, considering the fact that you're trying so hard to avoid me. anyways, i'm really tired, i've been up until midnight but you're still not here so just eat this before you come to bed. sorry, if i was being offensive earlier. i didn't mean to hurt you. love you.

abel closes his eyes, crumpling the paper slightly in his fist before bringing his hand up to his forehead and tapping it harshly, trying to knock some sense into himself. why the hell did he do that? noah would never say anything about his parents that might hurt him, noah wasn't like that.

maybe it's just that he is too aware of the fact that noah's parents still care about noah, they are always there to support him while abel has no backbone.

he doesn't have his mother calling up and checking on him, or his father sending gifts to adrian to spoil him further. he doesn't get calls occasionally, random plans of lunch being made over mere phone calls, followed by a night of recollecting and talking about their lives like a family.